The Being
The Being is a major character in Darkwood. It only makes an appearance in the True Ending, and appears to be located inside a giant canyon overgrown with tree-roots. The Being radiates a bright light, and resembles a huge organ. What looks like a distorted face can be seen inside it. A deep heartbeat can be heard upon nearing it. The canyon that the Being is found in is filled with hundreds of sleeping people and corpses. Thus, The Being is likely the reason people turn into Savages and the source of the 'Call' that some experience while in Darkwood (like Maciek). Anyone who answers this call will try to make their way to the Being, falling asleep and eventually starving to death. Touching it fills the Protagonist with a feeling of warmth and happiness. Continued exposure will turn people into Sleepers, slumbering in bliss as their body feeds the roots entangling them. The Being appears to also be responsible for the Plague, and its roots (the trees) are used to keep people from escaping Darkwood (the region's name). The Being tries to trick the Protagonist in the False Ending, to make them go to sleep. In reality, The Protagonist's unconscious body is entangled in roots, and will waste away, fertilizing The Being. If the Protagonist explores their home and the surrounding area, they will discover that something is wrong, and that they are in fact dreaming. The Being is implied that it is, quite literally, the very heart of the woods, and is the driving force behind the wood's rapid expanse. It is also responsible for the whispers and murmurs of the woods throughout the game. The player is able to kill The Being by taking the Flamethrower from Maciek and burning it down. Killing The Being will result in the total destruction of most of the woods, and is implied to end most of the weird things happening in them. Upon destroying it, however, it blocks your path as a final act, sealing the Protagonist's fate. There is a little branch that the Protagonist can try to escape on, but in the end, escape is impossible. After that, the fates of all the other inhabitants of the forest are revealed, and the military (or the Outsiders) comes in to restore order to the region. Dialogue I'm standing in front of an enormous being. * Place hand on the being I feel an overwhelming, soothing feeling of security and happiness. The vast valley, at the bottom of which I stand, curves upwards, closing over my head. The rust of distant trees turns into a single, silent murmur. I feel I'm coming home. To my flat. To my room with a window and a bed. :* Listen Something like a sound, continuous and low, is coming my way. In the depth of the pulsating space surrounding me, I can see vague shapes. Their outline blurs and fades away every time I try to focus on them. Suddenly the sound envelops me, only to instantly disappear a moment later. I can feel someone's presence far above me. ::* Who are you? I'm drowning in an illuminating, pulsating whiteness. I squeeze my eyes shut, but the bright vastness continues to blind me. The silent grunt grows stronger with every moment. It stratifies into an unlimited number of abstract, incomprehensible sounds, only to combine into a distant, wailing voice. My eyes fill up with tears, my hands are trembling. ::* What do you want? The everpresent whiteness blinds me. It explodes with brightness once more and then starts vibrating. Suddenly I realize that the pleasant feeling of warmth has been replaced by coldness. The coldness of the void that surrounds me. :::* Stop listening :* Withdraw your hand I feel a heat emanating from the being. I sense my pulse slowing down, a calmness. I want to rest, come back home. To my bed. I want to lie down. To fall sleep. ::* Do nothing I embrace the being with my both hands. My body feels limp. I collapse into a soft, warm, pulsating earth. I feel that my tensed body will finally experience relief. It's the end of my journey. I can rest. ::* Withdraw your hand! I don't want to do it. Still, my hand pushes the being away. The warmth that was emanating from it disappears, replaced by piercing coldness. :* Do nothing I'm coming back to rest. Rest in my flat. ::* Withdraw your hand! ::* Do nothing Speculation * As the Doctor slowly descends into madness, he shares his beliefs with the Protagonist that the trees of Darkwood send electrical signals across a massive network from one tree to the next. If this is the case, it would explain how The Being seems to be able to transmit signals to people, creatures, and even electronics, such as radios. ** He also suggests that The Being created the Plague in order to combat the Outsiders and drive them out of the forest, specifically stating that the Protagonist and his ilk are like foreign bodies and the creatures of the region (Villagers included) are like the white blood cells. ** The Outsiders appeared to be experimenting on The Being, which could support the Doctor's theory. * If the dream that The Being appears in is to be believed, then it is, or rather was, a child. It combated the Outsiders because they were most likely hurting or bothering it and perhaps it viewed Darkwood's inhabitants as potential playmates or food. * It seems that The Being is using the Radio Tower to broadcast a strange signal. This is confirmed in the Notebook. Gallery File:The_Being_-_Baby_-_Dream.png|The Being appears as an infant in the Protagonist's Dream. File:The_Being_-_face.png File:The_Being_-_face_-_burn.png|The Being's disguise is falling apart. File:The_Being.png|The Being can be seen here in the vague shape of a humanoid as it burns. What slightly resembles a mouth with teeth on a headlike appendage can be seen, as well as randomly scattered eyes, along with what might be an arm. Category:Major characters